My Rod Restoration Project

[JV44]

Great job Chris you will have to Christen it on some of those Speen chub on Cheesepaste this winter,Good to see you yesterday with your new toy Steve.

[Tigger]

What a transformation, great job Chris !

[Andy Macfarlane]

I'm tempted to pick up a beat up rod from a car boot sale or something and have a proper go myself. I've replaced plenty of rings in the past but never gone for a complete restoration. Clearly it's a patience thing and I'm not sure I could have given months to an old rod before.

[watatoad]

Rusty,

 

What you have done so far is not too bad, but when are you going to finish it?

 

Because the restoration job you have done on your rod is not finished until you have signed it and varnished over your signature, because it is a job you should be rightly proud of and you should admit that you are as good as you have shown all of us on Anglers Net.

With this great restoration project of yours, you have taken a rod which many would have thrown away and turned it into a rod than any would be proud to own and fish with.

 

Good fishing you rod restorer you... :bigemo_harabe_net-163:

 

But it will be your own fault if you now get loads of requests from other anglers wanting you to restore their old rods...hehehe

[Rusty]

Well, back down to earth with a bump. Everything was going ok until the whipping finish stage. Did I say previously that I was on the home stretch?

 

I’d decided to try the high build finish and so bought some Araldite ‘precision’ epoxy, the slow drying stuff. I whipped some old rings onto a test piece just in case things didn’t go well…..good job I did, things didn’t go well at all.

 

First attempt below, this is after just one application of the epoxy. It was very thick and difficult to apply evenly. I tried scraping it on, brushing it on, brushing across the thread to work it in followed by brushing with the thread to even it out. The end result was a total mess;

 

 

I thought perhaps that the smooth finish would come with the second coat so I left it overnight and re-applied the following day. Still no good, no matter what I tried I just could not get a decent finish. This pic is of a ring whipping that’s had two coats, a disaster;

 

 

Interesting how the epoxy shows up every little flaw in the whipping. In the above picture the right hand leg whipping looked pretty good before I applied the epoxy.

 

And a plain whipping below, again after two coats, no better;

 

 

I think the problem is that the Araldite is too thick but I’m not sure how to thin it down. Heat will just accelerate the curing process won’t it?

 

I’ve run out of thread now but still have a couple of un-varnished whippings on the bamboo so tomorrow I’ll try some Humbrol enamel and see how that goes.

[JV44]

Rusty whilst repairing small bits on fibreglass boats in the past i have thinned the resin with acetone ,not sure if it would work on yours and don`t add to much as it can weaken the resin .

[Dick Dastardly]

Rusty this is all my fault as Ive been that busy with the Wingham Fish In and getting sorted before I fly abroad Sunday morning (er about 8 hours time and still not 100%) that I didn't post the "hi-Build How to" I promised.Not going to be able to down load the photos etc now but here is a very quick basic run down.

 

Essential "tools"-

 

Stiff ,fairly short haired disposable nylon bristled brush.

 

Mixing pot for the Hi-Build/Araldite

 

MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL- A hair dryer!!! No Im deadly serious.

 

Procedure-

 

Mix up your Hi-Build/Araldite in a quantity that wont go off before youve used it all/most off.Experience will teach you this and obviously the size of the whippings/number of and your application speed.

 

Make sure hands are grease free.

 

Ensure the whipping has no fluff/dust (I run a lighter flame over it)

 

Warm up the whipping/blank with the hair dryer.

 

Apply a blob of the mix with the stirring spatula.

 

The warmed up area will make the mix "runnier" this enables it to soak into the thread better and far easier to work.

 

With the brush "draw"the mix around the end of the whipping so that there is quite a "deep/thick" band of it over lapping the thread and on to the blank. Do this both ends

 

Another quick warm up and starting at the ends pull the mix into the middle with the brush.

 

You will need to keep rotating the rod now to avoid runs.

 

Once the mix is evenly (ish) spread over the whipping keep turning and applying the warm air (this not only helps an even finish but also a highly clear/high shine one.

 

Repeat the process on all whippings but remember that once the first bit of mix is applied you need to keep turning to avoid the runs.

 

Once the whole section is done I put it some where (ie hung up or resting on the old cardboard box with the "v" cutouts, or on a rod pod even!) and for the next hour rotate the blank 180 degrees every minute.After an hour (once again dependant on the product used.ambient temperature and humidity) the mix will be dry enough not to run.Leave it UNTOUCHED though over night to avoid "finger prints/dull spots.

 

A nice thick,even and shiny BUT above all long lasting quick finish.

 

Give it a try on an old bit of rod first (the garden cane may behave different with the heat) and your confidence will return and you will have a nice new shiny rod with beautifully finished whipping for me to see when Im back!.......suppose I best go and pack now!

[Dick Dastardly]

Oh BTW one thick coat is the way here as opposed to the multiple thin layers when using varnish.

[watatoad]

Sounds good to me Budgie. If you do it in the house it can smell a little and she who must be obeyed might make a fuss It starts to get quite warm as it cures so there is no real need to use any overnight heat source, but make sure it is in a dust and pet free area.

 

When I first tried Araldite I tried multiple layers and met dismal failure and its not the easiest epoxy to remove completely.

[Rusty]

Rusty this is all my fault as Ive been that busy with the Wingham Fish In

 

Budgie don't be daft, it's not your fault. There are far more important things in life than this and anyway without your help I wouldn't have got this far, part of learning is trying and failing.

 

This morning I experimented with heating up the epoxy, first by dunking the Araldite syringes in a cup of hot water and then once I'd mixed a quantity leaving the mixing pot in a saucepan of water kept warm by my small burner device (see what I mean by making things difficult for myself, hadn't thought of heating the blank).

 

This worked to a degree, the epoxy was very runny but soon cooled and thickened once I applied it to the whipping, I had a bout 20 seconds before it went gloopy again. It also accelerated the curing process and after about 10 minutes my 'slow' curing Araldite was well on its way to setting. A bit of a failure that idea.

 

I’ll try the hair dryer method on the test piece (haven’t got a spare blank) but it looks like a method which needs to be right first time. For that reason I might revert to lots of coats of Humbrol, easier to control.